Drum Beats - 8/7 PM

Mike Nugent

08/07/2007

The aftershocks of Damion McIntosh's injury are being felt all the way down the offensive line, not just by new starter Will Svitek. The shuffle has already begun, and one of the bubble guys now has a great shot to make the team.

I think Kyle Turley was already going to make the team, and he's been competing for the starting right tackle spot. With Chris Terry out, Kevin Sampson took some reps at right tackle. Weirdly enough, no one's seen Ramiro Pruneda in a while.

Likely the rookie tackle, Herb Taylor, can breathe a little easier. He was having a pretty good camp before the injury, and now he's got an even better shot. After Svitek, he's been taking the most reps at left tackle. The Chiefs worked Turley out some this morning at left tackle, but like Herm Edwards said, Svitek is the guy.

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Two years ago, I thought Kendrell Bell could be a good fit for the Chiefs. He ended up having a bad year. He looked slow, and I still think he was fighting a shoulder injury, but we'll never know for sure.

Last year, in the offseason, I thought I was looking at a different player. He was spry, defending the pass well, showing fluidity in his hips and getting after the ball. No matter, he finished the regular season with 57 tackles and a sack.

This offseason, Bell hasn't looked that great. He's been relegated to a backup role and he's struggled mightily in pass coverage. Just about every back and tight end he's faced in one-on-one drills has beat him. I'm not sure exactly what the Chiefs have planned for him. He's been used as a rush defensive end, but even there the victories have been few and far between.

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Speaking of one-on-one's, we got to see the linebackers and safeties go against the running backs and tight ends in the coverage drills. Standouts:

Kris Wilson was absolutely unstoppable. He victimized every defender he faced today, even Jarrad Page, who was the best coverage guy in the drill. Wilson hasn't been mentioned much, but he's having a great camp. As an aside, he's been taking reps all over the field - tight end, fullback, wide out - but his individual drills have been with the running backs.

Kolby Smith not only showed some serious skills downfield, but he took a wicked jam from Kendrell Bell and kept going to make a wide open catch over him.
Derrick Ross surprised me a bit, beating Keyaron Fox and Bell on consecutive plays.